How Do I Know if My Air Ducts Need to Be Cleaned?
People frequently overlook air ducts as the potential culprit for dust and allergens in the air. We spend hours dusting tables and cleaning pet hair off couches without understanding that much of that is coming from our vents when the cooling or heating is turned on.
Air duct cleaning is a fantastic way to clear your home or commercial property of dirt, dust, and debris inside your vents. Services use high-power vacuums to suck things out and scrub the walls of your ducts to improve indoor air quality.
But how do you know when air ducts need cleaning? Some of the signs will seem obvious once you learn them, but they’re hard to notice unless you understand how things work in your property.
Here are ten signs you need air duct cleaning and what to do to get your duct system in great shape:
1. Excess Dust
Do you feel like you’re constantly battling dust on every surface at home or in the office? When you turn on your HVAC system, the air moving through your ducts picks up particles on its way to your vents.
Small particles are usually light enough to be carried through the air and onto your countertops, shelves, books, and everything else.
If you feel like you’re dusting more than you should, take a look inside your ducts.
2. Dirty Vents
Moist air conditioning and heating vents have grills over them to keep things safer. However, dusty or dirty vent grills are clear signs you need duct cleaning.
Look at the grills on your ceilings, walls, and floors to see if there’s lint, dirt, and hair in the gaps. These are surprisingly hard to clean. Usually, you have to take the grill off and soak it in water to get everything off.
Professional air duct cleaning slows the debris accumulation, meaning your grills are less likely to get dirty.
3. Bad Allergies
People with sensitive allergies notice when there’s too much pollen or pet dander in the air. However, dealing with allergies is more challenging when allergens are living inside your ducts where you can’t reach them.
If you’re sneezing or your eyes are watering, it could be because your ducts need cleaning. There could be dust, mold, and other allergy triggers in the ducts that are affecting your quality of life.
4. Poor HVAC Flow
Sometimes, ducts get so dirty the air doesn’t move properly through your system. For example, too much debris in a duct can lower how much cool air comes into specific rooms or areas of a house.
If you feel like the air is weaker from certain vents, it could be because there’s a lot of hair or dust blocking the way. Getting professional duct cleaning clears blockages for maximum HVAC performance.
5. Mold
Mold is almost a sure sign your ducts should be cleaned. Unless there’s an obvious culprit like water damage, there’s a good chance that mold you see on walls or ceilings is coming from inside your vents.
Vent cleaning companies use specialized tools and solutions to eliminate mold deep inside your ducts. There are also UV light tools they can install in your ducts to stop future mold growth.
Call someone to inspect your air ducts if you see mold and don’t know where it’s coming from.
6. Higher Utility Bills
Are you getting surprised by your heating and cooling bill every month? Higher costs could be related to flow issues inside your ducts.
When there are blocks or clogs, your system has to work harder to reach a specified indoor temperature, which means the AC or the furnace is running longer to achieve the same results.
As a result, you pay more on your bills.
Recurring high utility bills are a reason to check your ducts. Hopefully, a simple clog or reduced airflow is the problem, and a skilled technician can take care of things relatively easily.
7. Bad Smells
If you’re usually a clean person but can’t seem to get rid of smells inside, you probably need air duct cleaning.
Just think about all that hair, dust, and pet dander sitting inside your ducts. If it’s been years since your last cleaning, there’s a decent chance some stuff is decaying.
Some companies offer scents along with cleaning services, which help combat smells in your house or commercial property whenever you turn on the air conditioning or heating.
8. It’s Been Too Long
How often should I clean my air ducts? That’s a question many property owners ask.
Ideally, you’ll get your ducts cleaned at least once every other year. This is enough to keep most homes and businesses clean with clear ducts.
However, other factors could increase how frequently you clean your ducts. For example, you should clean more often if you:
Have bad allergies
Have pets
Experience a lot of dust inside
Live beneath or around a lot of trees
& Other factors
Keep track of when you clean your ducts and make it part of normal home maintenance. Regular cleaning keeps your ducts in good condition for longer.
9. Animal Infestations
It’s a good idea to clean your ducts if you’ve recently had an infestation. Animals like rats, mice, birds, etc., can leave droppings, hair, and urine inside your ducts that cause bad smells and affect air quality.
Typically, air duct cleaning companies use video equipment to look inside ducts to find debris like that and get rid of it.
In addition, if you smell something awful coming from your vent, it’s possible you could have a dead animal inside, which is an obvious reason to clean your ducts.
10. Health Issues
Headaches, wheezing, watery eyes, etc., are all possibly related to indoor air quality. Air pollution can happen indoors, making clean ducts and vents a priority.
Pay attention to how you feel in any given space you’re in. If you find you’re not feeling well at home, then deep cleaning is a must. Find someone who can get inside your ducts and rid your home of debris that’s making you feel poorly.
Contact our team for more information on our air duct cleaning services